The pandemic that has hit the world in recent months has spared no sector of activity. If for the employees it is not necessarily a burden, for the students, it is unfortunately the case. Indeed, several foreign students have suffered the serious consequences of this health crisis by losing their student job, having remained confined to Paris or even at home in their country of origin. After having accompanied them, Excusez My French approached three students so that they could tell us how they experience confinement. Back on the feelings of Hind, Gianni and Dor.

What do students do when they are confined?

We asked a few questions to three students who agreed to share their confinement experience with us. Our questions were basic: a brief presentation, their current location, and above all, how do they live this nightmarish episode while keeping an eye on their studies?

Hind tells us!

Hello Hind, is it possible for you to introduce yourself?

"Hello, my name is Hind Tassite, I am 21 years old and I am Moroccan. I am currently studying in France, more precisely in Paris in MBA1. I study Digital Marketing at EDC Paris. "

Where are you currently? How is confinement in your city going?

“I am currently confined to Morocco, my country of origin. I've been stuck here for several weeks. Unfortunately, I cannot return to France, because the borders are closed. However, the confinement takes place in good conditions. I admit that I have been at home since March 11 and I have not been out! ”

What about your occupations?

“At the moment, I practice a little sport in the morning. Monday and Tuesday, I have online lessons, so I apply myself. When I have free days, I try to optimize my time to look for internships or a job for my return to France. In addition, I do some work for the school and I go about basic occupations: chatting and exchanging with my friends or even cooking from time to time. "

As a Marketing School student, do you have any tips to help students and encourage them to make the most of their time during confinement?

“What I recommend to other students, especially those who are confined to France, is to try to stay optimistic and strong. It is a difficult crisis for everyone, it must be managed, and this, by having a better organization of his days. Try to practice a physical activity, discover new fun games, draw or even more interesting: do free online training and read novels. This will allow you to cultivate yourself and develop your skills. I also think that it is interesting to learn how to cook, to test new recipes and even more important for our mental health: taking care of your skin and yourself in general. Therefore, the idea being that it is very important to set small goals to achieve during the day in order to break the routine and not waste time. You who read me, good luck and don't forget, take good care of yourself! "

If you were not confined to your country, how do you expect to experience this confinement in France?

"I think I will live it well anyway!" I am by nature a very optimistic person and I try to do my best and my best in order to stay active and above all not to lose my dynamism. Otherwise, it would negatively affect and influence my mind. The hardest part would therefore be to take up a normal rhythm of life after this confinement. So, I think I have to stay brave, patient and do my best to keep my smile and motivation. "

Hind lives rather well his confinement in Morocco with his family. As she points out so well, it is very important, even essential, to keep a good mind, motivation and above all, know how to optimize your time so as not to get bored. What about Gianni?

Gianni takes his precautions!

A little presentation of you Gianni?

“My name is Gianni Wasserman, I am 23 years old and I am Argentinian. I have been living in Paris since September 2019. I am a communication student at EFAP Paris. "

Is confinement in Paris going pretty well for you?

“Indeed, I have been confined to my apartment in the 11th arrondissement for several weeks. I try not to go out even if the temptation is great and there are a lot of people on the street. Realizing the danger, I prefer to stay at home. All supermarkets are open and there are a few restaurants available to take out. It's easier to get delivered. "

How do you manage to occupy yourself during this confinement?

“I try to devote myself to my studies and I do exercises for school. I watch movies, play music and also play sports. In addition, I spend a lot of time looking for an internship even if it is teleworking, it is an obligation on the part of the school in order to carry out my study project. "

Do you have any tips to help students and encourage them to make the most of their time?

“My only advice at this weird moment we are in is above all to take all the necessary measures to keep physical and mental health in good shape. I find this to be our first priority. It is obvious that it is not easy to be confined, without physical and human contact with people, being far from social life is not always easy to live. It is for this reason that in my case, I try to take advantage of this situation to reflect on how I would like to return to "society". How good to approach my studies and how to integrate the job market effectively. I am fortunate to have a careful entourage in the face of this disease, so I'm not very tempted to go out!

That said, I also recommend dressing even if you stay at home. It is all the more important to have a routine like: cooking, studying, telecommuting, playing sports, etc. In addition, it is imperative to eat well and feed your brain with positive thoughts, these are things that contribute to our well-being. "

During your online internship research, what are the difficulties encountered during this confinement?

“I would very much like to have an internship in the audiovisual field. It is a rather difficult job in terms of internship research given that there are not many activities currently. I continue my research despite my requests which have remained unanswered. "

If you had the opportunity to be confined to Argentina, would you still have stayed in France? What about the current situation in your country?

“I am indeed in France, but I still had the possibility of returning to Argentina. I made the decision to stay in Paris. Staying here is a deliberate choice because I am very comfortable in my apartment. I did not want to lose the habit of speaking in French. As for the situation in Argentina, people are also confined, but given the current difficult economic situation in the country, many people go out to go to work. "

One would think that being confined to Paris would be a big problem for many students. Which is probably not the case for Gianni, so much the better for him. We finish with Dor, a student coming straight from Israel.

We would like to know you a little Dor, a presentation?

“My name is Dor, I am 28 years old and I live in Tel Aviv, Israel. I'm a communications student. ”

Where are you now and how is confinement going in your city?

“I currently live in a community in a small village in southern Israel. For the current situation related to the Corona virus is fairly stable and as there are not many of us, there is good management of the crisis, I would even say that there is no case of contagion. We live the situation rather calmly. "

What are you doing to keep you busy?

“I am a podcast editor, I also do design, so I continue to work even remotely, from home. For fun, I play music, it allows me to have fun and not get bored! Therefore, I maintain a professional activity and my favorite hobby despite the confinement. "

If you were to give advice to help students and encourage them to make the most of their time, what would you say to them?

 “My most important advice would be to take this period as a break, but not just to rest. To take the bright side, you have to optimize your time to do useful things, since in normal times, we do not necessarily have the time to do everything. No matter what our activity or our way of life, time is very important and it would be a shame to lose it by doing nothing. Now that we all have more free time and less work, we can invest it in doing things that we enjoy and that we are passionate about. Developing our skills remains the best profitable option in the long term in my opinion. "

Isn't being confined to your country very hard? How do you think to live this confinement in France?

"It is a little difficult for me to answer this question!" I admit to being very confident in Israel despite the pandemic, so I don't mind being there now. Regarding France, if I had pastry, a good baguette, good wine and cheese around me, why not! I think I would have been happy to be there! "

Confined, but not demotivated!

It must be said that this Covid-19 virus spared no one, but it also turns out that it did not succeed in demoralizing the students. Indeed, whether they are confined of their own free will in Paris or at home because of the closure of the borders, Hind, Gianni and Dor keep a moral of steel in spite of the circumstances. We are certain that they are not the only ones trying to optimize their time, working remotely and above all, giving themselves the means to succeed in their studies by taking advantage of this exceptional situation to seek internships, take care of 'them and develop their skills. The confinement is not experienced in the same way by everyone, the least that we can say is that these young foreign students in France knew how to take advantage of it to move forward! As the start of the school year is not planned for now, enjoying this free time is a boon. And you, what about your routine during confinement?